James Beard Awards Held in Chicago

The event was held Monday at Chicago's Lyric Opera House. (Published Monday, May 4, 2015)

An almost obsessive dedication to regional and seasonal foods has netted Dan Barber a first-ever culinary hat trick in the nation's top restaurant awards.

Barber, who is at the forefront of a movement to refocus how Americans think about sustainable food and agriculture, also was named the nation's top chef in 2009. And Blue Hill's sister restaurant, Blue Hill in New York City, was honored as the nation's best eatery in 2013.

Monday's win also marks the first time one chef has twice won outstanding restaurant.

Barber has been lauded for his "American seasonal" menus, which favor exceptional ingredients that have been carefully produced and minimally prepared. He opened the original Blue Hill in 2000 in Greenwich Village, then the Stone Barns outpost in 2004. The latter operates at the heart of a working four-season farm and education center dedicated to raising awareness of food sustainability issues.

The awards honor those who follow in the footsteps of James Beard, considered the dean of American cooking when he died in 1985. Monday's ceremony marked the foundation's 25th year of recognizing the food world's top talent. The event, held at Chicago's Lyric Opera, also was the first time it was held outside New York City. A similar gala on April 24 was held in New York for book and media awards.

Though the awards ceremony moved to Chicago, the foundation seemed to pine for New York. Most of the top tier honors went to restaurants and chefs in the Big Apple. Outstanding chef went to Michael Anthony of Gramercy Tavern; Christina Tosi of Momofuku took outstanding pastry chef; and best new restaurant was Markus Glocker's Batard.

Like Barber, Anthony has been praised for a fierce dedication to serving seasonal foods. In fact, he worked at Blue Hill at Stone Barns until moving to Gramercy Tavern in 2006. Two years later, the restaurant — which opened in 1994 — won the foundation's top restaurant award.

Among the outliers from the New York crowd was Chicago restaurateur Donnie Madia, owner of One Off Hospitality Group, the force behind many of the city's top restaurants, including Blackbird, avec, The Publican, The Violet Hour, Publican Quality Meats and Nico Osteria. He won top restaurateur. Jessica Largey of Manresa in Los Gatos, California, won rising star chef of the year.

The group's Lifetime Achievement award went to Richard Melman, founder of Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, a Chicago-based corporation that operates more than 100 restaurants around the country.

The Humanitarian of the Year honor went to Michel Nischan, another leading chef in the sustainable food movement. In 2007, he cofounded Wholesome Wave, a Bridgeport, Connecticut, organization working to improve access to healthy, affordable fresh food.